Shirley

Shirley is a new manga by Kaoru Mori. Actually it's a new U.S. release, but it was the first manga by Mori, who went on to write and draw seven volumes of Emma, a Victorian period piece, about Emma, who's a maid, romance, and class differences in society.

Shirley is a single manga volume with several short stories and is a good, solid introduction to Kaori Mori's work which evokes master anime master, Hayo Miyazaki films such as Whisper of the Heart and Kiki's Delivery Service (in her notes at the end of Shirley, Mori mentions Miyazaki as an influence - and it was her characters similarities as well as lush background to Miyazaki's work that first prompted me to pick up Emma).